The Antares rocket, seen here taking off during a test launch in April, is scheduled to lift off on a mission to the the International Space Station on Wednesday. / Staff Photo by Jay Diem

Written by

Carol Vaughn

Staff Writer

WALLOPS — A launch from Wallops Island of Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Antares rocket carrying the Cygnus spacecraft on a mission to the the International Space Station has been delayed 24 hours, officials said.

Takeoff will now be during a window between 10:50 and 11:05 a.m. on Wednesday.

Poor weather Friday delayed a rollout of the rocket to a launch pad and a “technical issue was indientified” during a test, according to Orbital’s website.

Tests completed Saturday were successful.

It will be the first mission to lift off from Virginia for the International Space Station — and the second major mission launched in less than two weeks from NASA Wallops Flight Facility and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.

The LADEE spacecraft is on its way to the moon after successfully lifting off from the spaceport aboard a Minotaur V rocket on Sept. 6.

The 133-foot-tall, two-stage Antares rocket will be launched from the nation’s newest launch pad.

The spacecraft on the demonstration mission will carry more than 1,300 pounds of cargo to the space station, including about 44 pounds of care packages for the crew.

Also on board will be nearly 434 pounds of crew provisions and 530 pounds of food, along with computer supplies, tools and small experiment modules, among other items, according to NASA’s Johnson Space Center Public Affairs Officer Josh Byerly.

Also among the items listed on the manifest is an “extravehicular mobility unit”—known to most of us as a spacesuit.